Staff Team

Strategic Leadership Team

The entire team of professionals at Beechwood College is fully supported by our Strategic Leadership Team, who are on hand both day and night to provide advice and support to students and staff. Our Strategic Leadership Team includes our Director of Service, Principal, Clinical Lead and General Manager.

Education Team

Our Principal and team of lecturers offer a wide range of teaching styles so that learning potential can be maximised to achieve a level of individual success.

Each student that attends the College is allocated a lecturer who will act as their link tutor. The link tutors provides specific educational support to enable students to access learning opportunities across the College day whilst also providing pastoral care and support where appropriate.

The link tutors are responsible for reporting upon each student’s educational progress across the year and creating supportive Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) which set out clear objectives for attainment.

The lecturers work Monday to Friday during College term times and in close partnership with the home managers and clinicians, working towards agreed improvement plans for all students.

Home Managers

Each of the residential homes here at Beechwood College has an allocated home manager whose primary responsibility is overseeing the day-to-day running of the home. This involves ensuring that the highest quality of service is provided for our students through implementation and development of their person-centred Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) plans, Care and Treatment plans and that staff in the home are encouraging and supporting students to achieve and exceed their full potential.

Home managers attend and oversee meetings such as reviews, transition and Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings (MDT’s), ensuring the students’ needs are at the forefront of decision-making, whilst also ensuring the quality of the service being delivered meets and exceeds the standards of our regulatory bodies.

Lead Professional

Students are allocated a lead professional who is responsible for overseeing their support package and acting as their primary link person.

Key Worker

The main role of the key worker is to understand, promote and achieve the highest possible quality of life for the student they support. A key worker will understand the needs of individuals on the autism spectrum and will have an understanding of autism and how it affects the daily routines of our students. If applicable, they will also have an understanding of the student’s other needs and disabilities, for example epilepsy.

As part of the residential team, the key worker will welcome the student on admission and provide for their physical and emotional care during their stay with us. At the end of the student’s time at the College the key worker will assist in their transition back home or to another service.

Working with the rest of the team at Beechwood College your key worker will promote the structure and routines developed for their student, identifying and assisting them in their personal care routines, and in the routines of the home; understanding how to communicate with them, and promoting choice, dignity and respect at all times. They will support their student in the community, accompanying them when shopping for items such as clothing, toiletries and other such necessities of life, as well as promoting social opportunities.

The key worker will arrange for their student to attend all healthcare appointments, such as medical, dental and hospital, accompany them, if required, and will clearly record and bring back to the College all information gained from the healthcare specialist. The key worker will also support the student in managing their personal money accounts, supporting effective budgeting.

Your key worker is your liaison point between you and the college and they will attend appropriate meetings such as reviews and MDTs. They will help you to decide on how information is communicated to you on a regular basis and in what format. It might be by a weekly phone call or email for example.

Life at Beechwood College

Term Dates

Please see our website for up to date term dates.

Consultation Evenings

Consultation evenings are held at intervals through the academic year, providing you with the opportunity to meet with the education, clinical and residential teams (where applicable) working with the student to see some of the work that they have completed and celebrate how well their academic year is going.

Awards Day

At the end of the academic year we host an awards day to recognise the progress and achievements of our students. We encourage families to attend and be a part of this special day.

Review Meetings

We recognise that the first few months can be a stressful and difficult time for both and students and their families. At the end of the first three months we hold an initial review meeting to discuss progress and achievements and agree future plans. In attendance at this meeting will be representatives from the education, clinical and residential teams who will each have prepared a detailed report. Parents and associated external parties such as social workers, careers officers or members of the Local Health Board may also be invited. Following this initial review meeting, annual reviews are held where we will discuss progress; unless more frequent meetings are considered necessary.

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